The Afghan government has taken charge of thousands of insurgent prisoners at
Bagram military prison even as it clashed with America over the fate of
hundreds of inmates.

The handover of the controversial high security prison, sometimes referred to as "the other Guantánamo", had been hailed a victory for Afghan sovereignty as America prepares to withdraw combat troops by the end of 2014.

But the ceremony marking the transition at the prison next to a sprawling airbase north of Kabul was overshadowed by America's refusal to hand over the last inmates.

US commanders have stopped the transfer of around 30 Taliban prisoners, reportedly over concerns they will be released by the Afghan government. A spokesman for US forces would not say who they were, or why they were held.

Six hundred detainees seized since the handover was agreed on March 9 have also yet to be given to Afghan control.

Another 50 prisoners from outside Afghanistan, most from Pakistan, are not covered by the handover agreement and will also remain under American control.

Disagreement over the fate of the prisoners caused Hamid Karzai to issue a terse weekend statement warning any delay in the handover of Bagram "is considered a breach of the Afghan national sovereignty".

There is also dispute over how long US forces can detain suspected insurgents that they capture from now on.

Senior US officers stayed away from the handover ceremony.

Both sides signed a memorandum of understanding over the handover in March, paving the way for the ten year strategic pact between then signed in April.

Jamie Graybeal, a spokesman for US forces, said "While some 99 per cent of the detainees captured before 9 March have already been transferred to Afghan authority, we have paused the transfer of the remaining detainees until our concerns are met regarding the intentions of the Afghan government to fulfil the terms of the memorandum."